Folding machine



Ai'p s. COOPER FOLDING MACHINE v '4 shets-sheet 1 Original Filed Nov.18. 1922- avweutoz J/Mo/y COOPEK.

4 Sheets-Sheet '5 Lil MON COOPER.-

April 6 1926; v

v s. COOPER FOLDING MACHINE m i Filed Nov. 1 s. 1922 f fqFV///////////fi7///// /////////////A/M.

April 6 1926.

s. COOPER FQLDING MACHINE Original Filed Nov. 18. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4awwntoz Juno/v CQOPER.

I To all whom 2'2- mdg concern:

Patented Apr. 6, 1926. H omreo rm SIMON fooornn,

' FOLDING EACHINE. I

Originalapplicationflled Nouember s, 1922; 'serial'in. 601,358; DividedFebruary 5, ,1925.

Be it known that I, SIMON, Coornma citizen of the United-States andresident of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of.

"New York, have invented certain, new and useful Improvements in-Folding Machines, of which the following isa specification Thisinvention relates"in-"general 110 folding mechanismand aims to providemechanism' particularly adapted for handling flimsy materialsuch astissue paper use i for example, for arment patterns.

The present invention isadivision of, my application Serial No. 601,858,filed Nov'emg ber 18, 1922, wherein I have disclosed a method andapparatus for" folding paper" patterns. The machine described in myformer application isprovided with means for picking the uppermost sheetfrom a: multiplicity of piles and feeding such sheets to aii operativepoint where they are'cngaged'by a wrapping arbor which is arranged to beturned through a suflicient number of 'revolutionsto fold the sheetsinto along narrow pa cki Af ter the sheets are sofolded they-arestripped from the arbor and the folds are creased,

- then the sheets are fed'to another arbor which is adapted to fold thelong pack in a direction to rightangles to thefirst; folds so as to wrapthe sheets into a smaller or- J f s I Wrapping arbor and the packwrapping ar The present inventionrelates particularly v to the means forperforming the second.

shorter compact package.

Wrapping operationythat is to say, it is directed chiefly to mechanismfor receiving" a long pack of previously folded sheets" and for foldingsaid sheets in another direction tomake a shorter and more compact packaage.

eats; the ends (if th pack Qbih g In handling flimsy material-such thetissue paper from which garment .patterns are made, theproblem ofpr'elyenting' have provided It m 1,51 1 PATENT OFFICE.

OF B-RooKnYn, ,NEW'YQRK; Assicnonizto arms:v HcGALL COMPANY, OF NEWYORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Serial m. 6,945..

from whipping about in. a haphazard man ner and the, same'also overcomesthe action of centrifugal force Which tends to separate thediiferentf'convolutions of the pack beingwrapped. j 7

The mechanism disclosed also includes" means for secliring a grip. onfapack of folded sheets which is of such-a character and this applicationfilled that it will not, slip under the influence, of

the] turning moVeme-ntof the arbor, yet will permit the wrapped sheetsto he readily stripped from the arbor Without opening the gripping jaws.This .result is secured by providing a gripping device which kinks theendofthe Wrapped pack as will hereinafter more fully appear.Anembodiment of the intention is illustrated in, the accompanyingdrawings, in,

which F 1g; 1 is a yertical section through V a portion of a foldingmachine showing the. Wrapping arbor-andfrelated parts s Fig; 2 isasection on line 22 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary,- detail viewedfrom the left of Fig." 1 and "shows parts sectioned off on, the line 33thereof;

Fig. & is an enlargedview showing parts illustrated in the upper part ofFig. 1;

5-is a section on line 5 5 of Fig. a; Fig. 0 is a' somewhat diagrammatictop plan showing the relationship of the sheet 1' Fig. 7 is an enlargedview showing. details of construction of thepack wrapping arbor;

Fig. 8 is a liorizontalsection on'line 8'8 of Fig. V e 7 F'1g.9 1s asimilar section on line 99. 0f Flg. 7; v

' Fig. l0-is a plan View of the parts shown in'Fig. illustrating thearbor clamp in, closed positionand a wrapped package of sheets thereon,the figure also showing the means fore'xerting a gentle tension'on thepack being Wrapped; -F '11; is a detail skeleton vicwshowing arts. whichwouldappear ina" section taken perspectiv views of different parts ofthe 'p'ackwrap ping arbor; v Fig. 114 I a top .planjw'uexv of a portionof a folding machine showmgthepackwrappiffg'aiborand rel-awe age Themachine disclosed in my former application of which this is a divisionillustrates a sheet wrapping arbor indicated diagrammatically at D, Fig.6, which is adapted to receive a plurality of superimposed sheets andwrap them into a lon narrow pack. Means are provided for stripping thesesheets from the arbor D and passing then into engagement with rollers518 and 520 which crease the folds of the pack and feed them througlguides formed by spaced plates 57 1 and 576 into position tobe engagedby the jaws of the pack wrapping arbor G forming the subject matter ofthe present invention. The plates forming the passage-way are supportedby brackets 578 which are secured to any suitable fixed part of theframework of the machine.

The pack-wrapping arbor as shown includes a vertical spindle 580 to thelower end of which is fastened a bevel gear 582 and to the upper end ofwhich is secured a head 584, the head being secured by flathead screws586 which pass through a flange 588 formed on the upper end of thespindle 580. The spindle 580 is formed with an axial here to' guide astem 590 which is riveted to the underside of a stripper plate 592 whichnormally rests on the upper surface of the head 584;. This stripperplate is provided with openings 59%- and 596 to permit the free upwardmovement of the plate and also to permit the movement of the other partsto be presently described.

Rigidly secured to the head 58 1 and projecting upwardly through theopenings 59st and 596 respectively of the stripper plate are uprights598 and 600. The outer edges of these uprights are bevelled as at 602and 604; so as to present a narrow edge around which the previouslywrapped pack of sheets can be again wrapped or folded. The upright 598is formed with a shoulder 606 and an inwardly extending fin 608. Thisupright forms the fixed jaw of the clamp for the pack-wrapping arbor.The movable jaw of the clamp comprises an upright 610 which is rigidlysecured to a swinging arm 612 which is pivoted at 61% below the head58%. A spring 616 is securedat one end to the arm 612 and at the otherend to a pin 613 carried on the underside of the head 584: and tends topress. the jaw 610 toward the fixed jaw. The upright 610 is providedwith a shoulder 618 and an inwardly extending fin 62. When the jaw is inits closed position the fin 608 of the fixed jaw and the [in 620 of themovable jaw are substantially parallel, and these members together withthe upright 600 form a short narrow arbor around which the pack ofpattern sheets can be wrapped so as to fold the same into a shortcompact package. 0 v

The a 612 is of curved erma ion as shown in plan in Fig. 9 so as tostraddle the supporting bearing for the spindle 580 and thus permit ofsupporting the upright 610 substantially diametrically opposite theupright 600 when the clamp is in closed position. As shown in Fig. 9 theopening 594: in the stripper plate conforms in shape to thecross-section of that portion of the upright 602 which extendstl'ierethrough. Part of this opening as indicated at 595 is of arcuateshape so as to permit of slight angular movement of the upright 610 carried by the arm 612. The-outer end of arm 612 carries a downwardlyprojecting pin 622 which is adapted to be struck at the proper time bythe end 624 of a slidable rod 626 operating in fixed guides 628, shownin detail in Fig. 11. The slide-rod normally held in its retractedposition by a spring 630, one end of which is anchored to the undersidethereof and the opposite end of which is secured to an eye carried bythe guide as shown. An arm 632 pivoted on a shaft 634 is connected bymeans of a link 636 with the slide and at the proper time the lower endof the arm is struck by a pin 638 secured to a disc 639 on shaft 138 soas to swing said arm to the left, as shown in Fig. 11, and thereby causethe slide 626 to strike the pin carried by the arm 612 and thus openthemovable jaw 610 of the arbor clamp. The length of the arm 632 is suchthat the pin 638 holds the jaw of the clamp open for a suflicientinterval to permit the forward end of the folded pack to be fed betweenthe jaws 602 and 610 of the arbor and after the pin 63S rides elf theend of the arm 632 the spring 616 will cause the jaw 610 to snap to theposition shown in Fig. 10, thus securely clamping the end of the wrappedpack. it will be noticed that the shoulder portions 606 and 618 of theuprights are substantially the same width in plan so that when one jawcloses against the other they will nest together as shown in F 1g. 10and will offset or kink the forward-end of the wrapped pack andtherefore secure a good hold thereon. This offset grip makes it possibleto wind the previously wrapped pack on this arbor without danger of thejaws losing their hold and permits'the use of a, comparatively lightspring 616 for holding the movable jaw in closed position. It isdesirable to use such a light spring because after the arbor has made asufiicient number of revolutions to wrap the pack into apackage saidpackage must be stripped from the arbor while the spring pressure isexerted thereon. Of course means could be provided for giving a slightopen movement to the movable jaw at the'time the pack is stripped butthis would add complication to the mechanism and the offset gripdescribed securely holds the, end of the pack, during the Wrappingoperation and yet permits the same to be stripped while the springpressure is exerted on themovablejann p l I.

Means are provided for periodically r0-v rating the pack wrapping arborG a sufii- Vcient number of revolutions to wrap the pack into. a shortnarrow package. Locking means are. also provided toholdathisarborstationary while the" forward end of the pack of sheets is beingtransferred from the sheet-wrapping arbor D rte-the said packwrappingarbor G. And means are provided for stripping the completely wrappedpackage from the arbor Gand feeding-1t into the bite of pressure rollerswhich will crease the folds of thepackage anddeliver mounted to rotateloosely on the-shaft 642.

- rollers 662 which are adapted to engagerop- This sprocket is drivenbya chain65'6 from a. sprocket in another section of the machine,

not shown. 1

The shift lever 650 above referred to'i's pivoted at 660 to a lu'gsecured to the-bear ing 476 and said lever carries a pair of positesides of a cam rib 664 formed. on

the perip-hery'of a disc'666 which isrse'cured" to the shaft 486,;previously referred to.

c This cam ridge is shaped in such a way that itmcauses the shift lever6501to periodically. move the clutch 649 into engagement with the pinon'the sprocket 5 64. A dwell portion of the cam permits the clutch toremain in engagement with the sprocket for asufiicient 1 length of timeto permit the pack-wrapping arbor: to make enough" revolutions tocompletely fold the long" narrow packfstripped from the--arbor" D, intoa shortcompact package. *After the package has been formed, cam 664 theclutch 648 and theredisengages by stops the rotation of the arbor G.When the arbor G stops its rotation; the aWs thferee of are located inapproximate I alignment with the axis of rotation of the sheet-windland4. o

ing arbor D, hence whenthe jaws are opened.

they will receive the Wrapped pack of sheets which are carried forwardby the transfering mechanism.

It is important that the packewrapping arbor G be accurately'positionedand locked when it comes to rest.

To these ends a looking disc 668 having a plurality of. notches 67 0formed therein is ii zedly secured to the shaft @642." Anni-m 672: isloosely pivoted'on- 670 or the locking disc. pulled upwardly by a spring676 and it car'- -ries a cam roller 678 adapted to co-act with, a camplate 680; carried on the face of the finger 674-adapted to engage thenotches" The arm 672 is carn-484, WhichiS'secured to the shaft 486.

Theratioof the sprockets 658 and 654,- and of the gears 640 and-582 issuch that one and one-quarter revolutions of the shaft 642*will' give anuneven number of revolutions to the spindle 580 so that when the arbor Gcomes to rest the movable jaw will always stop opposite to the uidepassage formed by the plates- 574 and 576. There arefour notches 670 inthe disc 668 and as the shaft 642 which rotates this dise'inakes one andone-quarter revolutions for each cycle of thema'chine it willbeunderstood that the finger 67 4 engages a different notch during eachsuccessive cycle; It will be further understood that'the'cam 680 is proportioned so as to hold the finger out of engagement with the lockingdisc 668 for sufficient time for it to niake almost: one and onequ'arterrevolutions whereupon I the roller 678 will ride from under cam surfaceand the spring 676 will snap the finger against'the locking disc in timeto accurately position the shaft 642- after it has made the required oneand one-quarter revolutions.

Of course other types oflocking devices such 4 as a Geneva movement orthe like could be employedto perform this function.

ing finger 674 having previously been disengaged by the cam 680. Bevelgear 640' will now rotate gear 582 and the arbor spindle 580' through asuflicient numbenofarevolutions' to completely. w rap. the "pack into ashort package as shown in Fig. '10., After this has taken place; thestripper plate 5994 will be lifted by mechanism to be presentlydescribed so; as to. lift: the package fromthe arbor G into the bite ofa pair of opposed. pressure" rollers'68 2 and. 684 shown in Figs;

While the pack is being-wrapped on the arbor G itis; advantageous toexert aslight V tension on" the sides thereof to prevent centrifugalforce from forcing the different convolutions ofathe pack outwardly.Forv this purpose I' have provided canvas belts 68'6Qand 688 which:aresecured at one end tovfixedbrid'les 690 and 692., These bridles v oe ffastenett tor right; pins 694 and; 69,6 1 shaft andmisaprevi 'ded;with: a best., shown in Fig- 6, outer ends- (lithe. 1

Lin

tension belts are secured to bridles 698 and 700 and springs 7 02 and704:, yieldingly connect the last mentioned bridles to fixed hooks 706and 708 carried by an upright rod 710,

Fig. 14. The tension belts 686 and 688 pass through a slot 712 formed ina standard 714- which is secured to the top plate 716. This top platebrid 'es a space between the intermediate frame 14 and the outboard 7frame 12 and forms a supporting structure for the stripper mechanism anddelivery mechanism to be presently described. The bearing for thepack-wrapping arbor also is carried by this supporting plate andcomprises an integral nub or boss 718 through which the arbor spindle580 extends as shown in Fig. 7.

As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 1.0, the belts .686 and 688 will bear onthe outer surface of the pack as it is being wrapped on the arbor G, itbeing understood that the springs 702 and 704 will yield as the arborrotates.

For lifting the stripper plate 592 a pair of oppositely disposed arms720 and 722 are mounted on a rock shaft 724 and provided at their freeends with forked plates 726 and 728 which engage the outer portion ofthe circular stripper plate 592. The connection is such that thestripper plate can freely revolve with respect to the forked plateswithout exerting undue friction. In other words the plates are forked orslotted in such a way as to permit the stripper plate 592 to revolvefreely.

After the pack has been completely wrapped into a package on the arborG,

the shaft 724 is rocked (it being under stood that the arbor is lockedstationary at this time by the finger 674 and disc 668) by means of anarm 730. This arm is connected to a link 732 which at its lower end ispivotally secured to a stud 73 carried by an arm 736 loosely pivoted onthe shaft 77% as shown. On its free end the arm 736 carries a roller 788 which rides in a cam groove 740 formed in a cam 74-2 keyed orotherwise secured to the shaft 4-86.

After the pack of sheets has been completely wrapped into a compactpackage the cam 742 through the connection just described causes thearms 720 and 722 to lift the plate 592 to the position shown in Figs.

4: and 5. This action partially strips the wrapped package from arbor Gand moves the upper end thereof into the bite of the rollers 682 and68%. These rollers are supported by upright standards 74%, the roller682 being carried byspring pressed bearing blocks 746 which are arrangedto slide on the bearing surfaces 748 formed on the standards. When theplate 592 is lifted, the tension webs 686 and 688 are flexed as shown inFigs. 4: and 5 and the springs 702 and 704: are slightly stretched as lle unde d The rollers 682 and 684i exert a pressure on the compactpackage and crease the folds which were made by the wrapping arbor G.These rollers then deliver the completely wrapped and creased package tothe bite of a pair of opposed conveyor belts 750 and 752. At their innerends these belts are guided over rollers 754: and 756 respectively andat their outer ends said belts are trained over similar rollers 758 and760. A slack takeup roller 762 is provided for the belt 750 and atake-updevice including a rod 764: carried on a link 766 pivoted at 768is provided to guide and take up the. slack of the belt 752. The rollers760 and 758 are located in juxtaposition to an inclined discharge chute770 which is adapted to receive the wrapped packages from the conveyorbelts and guide them by gravity to a suitable station outside of themachine.

The drive for the rollers 756 to 760 inclusive is shown in. Fig. 1 andincludes a sprocket 772 which is connected by means of a chain 7 7a witha sprocket 776 mounted on a shaft 778 carried by the standards 74-4.This shaft carries a spur gear 780 which meshes with a gear 782 securedto a shaft 784k, this shaft being the one that supports theabove-mentioned rollers 756. This shaft also carries a gear 786 whichmeshes with a gear 788 carried on a shaft 790 which shaft supports theroller 754:. This gearing is so arranged that the conveyor belts will bedriven in the proper direction as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4i, todischarge the wrapped package from the machine. The drive for thepressure rollers 682 and 684 is from gear 786 through an idler 792 togear 794 carried on the shaft 7 96 on which the pressure roller 684 issupported. Said gear 794- meshes with a gear 798 carried by shaft 800which shaft supports the pressure roller 682. As indicated in Figs. 1 to5 this gearing drives the pressure rollers in the proper direction tostrip the wrapped package from the arbor G and deliver it to theconveyor belts 750 and 752. The gears 788 and 798 are offset from oneanother as indicated in Fig. 5 so as to avoid interference withoneanother as will be understood.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of theparticular embodiment of the invention herein shown, it is not to beconstrued that I am limited thereto as changes in arrangement andvarious modifications may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is: r

1. In a folding machine, a paclswrapping arbor comprising a rotarymember having two spaced uprights secured thereto, a

clamp member pivotally secured to the rotary member and adapted toco-actwith one of said uprights, means for holding the clamp closedwhile thearbor rotates and means for opening said clamp when the arbor isstationary. 1

2. In a folding machine, a pack-wrapping arbor comprising a rotarymember having two diametrically opposed uprights secured lv theretoadapted to wrap a previously wrappednumber of sheets into -a flatpackage,

P a number of sheets wound fiatwise thereon' and flexible means anchoredat both ends to. fixed supports and arranged to exert a gentle yieldingtension on the flat pack being wrapped around saidspaced extensions.

5. A folding device including a member having spaced extensions'adaptedto have a number of sheets wound fiatwise thereon and a flexible beltadapted to exert a gentlev tension on the sheets being wound around saidextensions to confine the movement of the free ends of the sheets beingwrapped and to compensate for the action of centrifvugal force whichtends'to force the different convolutions of the pack'between saidextensions outwardly. 7 6. A folding device including a rotary memberhaving extensions adapted to -have a number of sheets woundfiatwisethereon and flexible belts yieldingly held between fixed supports onopposite sides of said ex-' tensions adapted to gently press against theopposite sides of the rotating pack of sheets 7. In a folding machinea'member adapted to have a pack of sheets wrapped thereon, meansincluding a clutch and gearing for perodically rotating said memberthrough a predetermined number of revolutions and then breaking thedriving connection to permit said member'to dwell and means for lockingthe member against rotatlOITWllllG the clutch is dlsengaged.

8. In a folding machine a member adapted to have a packof sheets wrappedthereon, means for periodically rotating said .member through apredetermined number of revolutions and then breaking the drivingconnection to permit said member to dwell, means for locking the memberagainst rotation during the dwell period and means movable legthwise ofsaid member for stripping the wrapped pack of sheets there from while itis at rest.

9. In a folding machine a rotary element adapted to wrap a pack ofpreviously wrapped or folded sheets into a smaller means package, saidelement carrying for kinking the end of the packso as to exert a gripprior 1 to the, rotary movement thereof which will not slip as the packis being wound; yet will permit the same. to be. readily strippedendwise from said rotary element.

10. In a folding machine-a rotary member having spaced extensions aroundwhich va pack of sheets are adapted to .be'wrapped as the member turns,and a spring pressed member arranged to kink the end of the pack ofsheets and to hold it in engagement with one of said extensions. 11. Ina folding machine a pack wrapping arbor adapted to wrap an elongatedpackof previously folded or wrapped sheets into a shorter package,comprising. a rotatable spindle having a head carrying twospacedextensions around which the pack is adapted to be wrapped and meanscoactingwith-one of said extensions for gripping the the pack.

end of V 12. In 'a foldin'g machine a pack wrapping I arbor adapted towrap pan elongated pack of previously folded or wrapped sheets into ashorter package, comprising a rotatable spindle having a head carryinglongitudt nally extending members around which the pack is adapted'to bewrapped and a clamp between said members adapted'to kink one end of thepack and hold it in engagement" with onefof said members. I

In witness whereof, I have signed my name.

' SIMON COOPER.

hereunto

